


You're Cute But Your Taste In Literature Needs Work

by MissLunar



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - College/University, Castiel Works in a Bookstore, F/M, Fluff, I Tried, I'm Sorry, M/M, Poor Dean, very minor homophobia in paragraph 6 or 7, very minor swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 11:38:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8247404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissLunar/pseuds/MissLunar
Summary: Castiel Novak, senior in college and part time bookstore cashier. After several months, Cas has finally settled into an everyday routine: sleeping, eating, studying, working so he can keep studying, and then sleeping again. Introduce, Dean Winchester, engineering student! Getting a degree in English Literature is no easy task; when you’re distracted by the hot customer with poor taste in books and there-is-no-way-those-are-natural green eyes, it gets even harder.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I'm Luna. This is my first fic on here and I'd like to thank Duckie, my wonderful beta and friend who read through this fanfiction for me. On tumblr I am known as duckie-and-luna. Feel free to stop by though we only have two posts so far, one being this fic.

Cas wasn’t unhappy with his life.

Far from it, he’d spent a few years working to save money and his parents had agreed to help pay his tuition fees (albeit they were most likely just trying to get him out of the house but hey, Cas needed some space anyway), he was doing well in class (okay so sometimes needed a little help from the scholarship student, Sam Winchester, but Cas was sure he was more than happy to help!) and Cas loved his job in the local bookstore; his boss wasn’t an ass, he made decent wages and he could drink as much coffee as he wanted, as long as he didn’t go near the merchandise with his beverage.

But there was still something missing; Cas thought about it while he gave the young lady with red hair her change.

So Cas wasn’t the most popular guy on campus, he had friends - good friends that he would keep in contact with even after they were done with school - so it wasn’t like he was alone. It wasn’t like the twenty-five year old was out of caffeine, so that couldn’t be it either. As he sipped his drink, Cas’ gaze turned towards the romance section of the store. His deep-blue eyes glazed over the covers, eyeing the couples on the them.

 _Perhaps that’s what I’m missing?_ Cas thought. He attempted to list his previous lovers and ended up with a rather pitiful list. The red-head that was his first kiss back in middle school, the brunette who went to prom with him in high school and…nope, the few after that hadn’t left any sort of impression. Since then, Cas had learned a lot about himself, specifically, his preference of the same sex. 

To say his parents were always accepting would be a lie.

Cas ended up moving out and taking up several part time jobs in order to pay rent and still save up for college; he’d prepared a 10-year plan! Though it seemed it was unnecessary - all the Novak family needed was time apart as by the next year, they had settled most of their differences and come to terms with the youngest’s sexuality. While this didn’t mean Cas had forgiven them for shunning him, he could acknowledge the fact that they were trying to make amends, and that in itself was something. Though perhaps getting him sent off to college so soon wasn’t the best way to say sorry, but hey, it’s not like Cas was against it. The idea of studying writing intrigued him, maybe he’d eventually get one of his own stories publi-

“Uh, excuse me?”

Cas was snapped out of his thoughts by a gruff voice. “Huh? Oh, sorry.” Cas mumbled out the apology automatically, it wasn’t like he could actually think straight when those bright green eyes stared into his own. The man in front of him had short brown hair and what looked to be a muscular figure under the leather jacket he was wearing. Cas couldn’t help but notice how his face seemed to be perfectly symmetrical. Oh, and just plain perfect.

Seriously, those green eyes were the kind of thing you heard about in books and fairy tales. The blue eyed male rung up the book that was handed to him, his gaze flickering down to said novel.

The cover of Twilight stared back at him.

“Nice choice. You a fan of the movies too or what?” Cas had a smile plastered on his face but his cerulean eyes twinkled with amusement.

The cashier had to use all his will power to suppress the snicker that threatened to emerge at the slightly flustered face of the young man in front of him.

He was younger than Cas, maybe by a year or two, and several inches taller. He held a certain roguish-air around him and Cas found himself completely and utterly smitten with the stranger.

As Cas handed him his change as he suppressed a sigh, why did the hot one have to have such poor taste?

“Um, thank you. I, um-bye.”

After the sound of the door shutting behind the green-eyed beauty, Castiel went back to day dreaming and getting his daily dose of caffeine.

* * *

Dean was an idiot.

He glared at the book in his hands. _Twilight?! Seriously?! Of all the shitty books in that store I grabbed this one?!_

Dean cursed his luck; of course the one time he actually cares about making a good impression, he messes it up by picking up a book aimed at teenage girls who have unnatural obsessions with vampires. 

Though Dean finds that he can’t be mad, not when he got to see the cute clerk smile at him.

Okay, so he was most likely laughing at Dean, but a smile is a smile and Dean will take what he can get.

And if that just so happens to be two gorgeous blue eyes ~~that reminded him of a clear sky on a sunny day, the kind of day that might trick him into thinking all is right with the world~~  practically sparkling at his misfortune, then so be it.

 _‘Castiel’_ Dean recalls, remembering the name tag on his shirt. He likes the way it sounds in his head, and can only imagine how good it would sound out loud.

Maybe he should go back to the store and try saying it there?

 _Nah_ , he thinks, _too clingy_. _I do have some self-respect left._

He grins as he think of his past lovers, a rather long and pleasurable list.

 _After all, I have a reputation to maintain._ The twenty three year old man threw the book onto the coffee table as he entered his small apartment.

_I’ll go back tomorrow instead!_

* * *

Dean tugged at his collar so it was up, pausing just outside the store to check his reflection in the window. After running a hand through his hair, he deemed himself appropriately attractive. The scent of old and new books assaulted his nose as he stepped inside and Dean wondered when the last time he stepped into a bookstore was. Well, aside from yesterday when he saw the blue eyed-beauty standing behind the cashier, through the window.

Speaking of _Castiel,_ Dean ~~not-at-all~~ subtly looked over to the counter, only to slump with disappointment. Cas (wow, nicknames already?) wasn’t there. Ignoring how desperate it may seem, he walked in and out of the aisles, not paying attention to any of the books on display.

Stopping in front of the magazine display, Dean’s eyes hovered over some girly magazines hidden behind several others. One of the magazines obstructing his view happened to be a magazine for those who had a passion for knitting (or were above the age of sixty). Dean picked up the glossy paper, his eyes hovering over the model who was wearing and entire body suit made of wool. Dean wondered how much she was being paid to do this; whatever the answer was, it was definitely not enough.

A dinging sound coming from the direction of the front door brought Dean back to his senses and he was glad he looked up as he caught sight of Cas whose hair was standing up in different directions, most likely a result of the strong winds. The tip of his nose was red and Dean felt the urge to wrap his jacket around the other man’s frame. Dean then noticed how Cas’ eyes started to sparkle once more, much like the previous day and that his ~~oh-so-kissable~~ lips were curving into a smirk.

It took Dean few moment to register the fact that Cas was smirking right at him. Or rather, what was in his hand.

_Goddammit._

* * *

Cas groaned at the papers scattered around him. “I am so screwed.”

From his space all the way at the other end of the couch, Sam scrunched up a piece of discarded paper and tossed it straight at Cas’ head. “You will be if you don’t get to work.”

Both Sam and Cas had a paper due in English Lit. the next day and Cas had yet to make a start on his work. He glanced at Sam whose fingers were rhythmically typing away at the keyboard, his laptop screen filling with lines of carefully thought out sentences.

Cas suppressed another groan as he stared at his own paper. The date and his name stared back at him.

 _Oh well_ , he thought, _may as well do something productive._

“Tell me, Sam, how is Miss Jessica doing?”

The response was almost instantaneous; the youngest Winchester’s fingers froze mid sentence and his face began to heat up. Cas smiled as he thought about how much the nineteen year-old student blatantly cared for a certain Jessica Moore.

“Sh-She’s fine. Good, actually. Why do you ask?”

“Because, Samuel,” Cas waved off the slight glare from his friend. “You, spend way too much time with your nose in a book, and that’s coming from me! And before you even try to argue, I spend my time reading going on adventures with interesting characters and an engaging plot. You on the other hand, stay inside doing homework and learning. It’s honestly disgusting and I feel that you, as a young man who should be going out with pretty girls, should be ashamed of yourself.”

“Oh? And what about you? Last time I checked, you’re social life isn’t exactly wild, now is it? I can’t even remember you dating anyone.”

“Ah, well that is where you’re wrong. My love life has recently become a little more…interesting.”

As Cas began talking about the mysterious customer who was so perfect he made Cas want to fight him but also kiss him senseless, he wondered if he’d only brought up Jessica so that he could finally gush about the handsome hottie. Even if he did, at least it looked like Sam was going to finally ask the girl out. Good thing too, as Cas was tired of seeing them stare after one another when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

* * *

It was a Sunday afternoon and Balthazar had called in last minute, asking Cas to take over his shift. Being the angelic person he was, Cas agreed, but only on the condition that Balthazar would forever be in his debt and therefore must complete his paper for him.

“You drive a hard bargain, Cassie, but fine. We’ve got a deal.”

And so that’s how Cas ended up spending his free day stacking shelves. He peered into the box of books he was supposed to be putting on display and say that the store had ordered in a new shipment of the newest Twilight books. A smile graced his features and he spent the rest of the hour chuckling to himself every time he leaned down to grab the next handful of novels.

He didn’t even notice the door to the shop opening.

Dean strolled into the bookstore, his eyes roaming the quaint shop for Cas. He was about to give up when he came across the very last aisle where he found his favourite cashier reaching up to stack the books in his arms onto the display shelves. Dean couldn’t help but notice how every time he did that, his T-shirt rose up to reveal a strip of toned skin. He glanced at the shelves just behind Cas - several bestsellers along with some classics that even Dean had heard off. There was no way this could go wrong!

Cue Winchester Luck.

Dean fixed the collar of his jacket so it was standing up and sauntered over to just behind Cas, grabbing a book off the shelf as he did so. He cleared his throat and tapped Cas on the shoulder for good measure too. The elder Winchester sibling felt his heart skip a beat as he saw how the other’s eyes lit up when they caught sight of him.

“Hello, _Castiel_ ,” Yes, it definitely sounded even better when saying it out loud. “I don’t suppose you could recommend any books like this one.” he held the book in his hand out for Cas to see. Dean smirked at Cas in a way that would leave most people weak at the knees.

Cas was not most people.

The raven-haired man’s face seemed frozen for a moment but just before Dean was going to ask if he was okay, he burst into laughter, mirth radiating off him.

Dean didn’t need to ask what was so funny; he glanced down at the book, almost warily. He decided that he had a good reason to be so scared, especially when it turned out the book in his hands was no other than the infamous _Fifty Shades of Grey_. But hey, at least he had been right about one thing: he had definitely heard of this book before.

“Oh, fuck me.”

“Hmm, tempting, but I think we should go out to dinner first. Don’t you agree?”

Dean wondered for a moment whether his ears had deceived him but as his green eyes met blue, he saw the genuine interest in them and decided that maybe Winchester Luck wasn’t all that bad after all.

* * *

Dean and Cas went for Italian the following Tuesday. Unfortunately, something went wrong when it came to the reservations (”I thought you were making them!” “Well, you thought wrong, didn’t you?”) so they settled on pizza and a movie at Cas’ apartment.

They were going to go to Dean’s but it turned out that it was already occupied by two young college students who were done pining endlessly over one another, instead getting down to business. Cas would’ve congratulated Sam and Jess had they not been in the middle of getting ‘hot and bothered’ just as he walked in with Dean.

They sat together on Cas’ old couch, legs thrown over one another and arms wrapped around each other. They looked positively ridiculous, long limbs too big for the small couch but they preferred to think of the whole thing as cosy as opposed to cramp. It was there that Dean explained the incidences with all the awful books and horrendous first impression he’d made. Cas learned of the entertaining force known as ‘Winchester Luck’ and despite his cooing in all the right places, he secretly hoped that he’d be there to witness more of Dean getting thrown into embarrassing situations that only he could get into. He was most looking forward to seeing his lover’s flushed face after the whole ordeal.

“You’re pretty cute when you’re all blush-y”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Cas leaned in and whispered into Dean’s ear, his breath hot on the younger’s neck. “You. Are. Cute.” Each word was accompanied by a kiss to both of Dean’s cheeks and then his nose. Neither were sure how long they sat staring at each other, nor were they sure who moved in first, but they definitely noticed when their lips fit perfectly together, and when their tongue’s begun to explore uncharted territory. When they did eventually break for air, both were panting slightly and wore matching grins. Cas leaned in once more but rather than kiss him, he softly uttered eight words that Dean would treasure forever.

“You’re taste in literature still needs work, though.”

**Author's Note:**

> I tried. I hope you liked it. I think they might have been a little ooc but I think they're still cute. Feel free to review and if you have any prompts you can always send them through tumblr (lunaquackers). Thanks for reading!


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